A day after Winter Haven city commissioners voted to terminate the city's contract with The Landings, residents expressed mixed opinions on the future of the Chain of Lakes Complex.

By RYAN E. LITTLETHE LEDGER

WINTER HAVEN | A day after Winter Haven city commissioners voted to terminate the city's contract with The Landings, residents expressed mixed opinions on the future of the Chain of Lakes Complex.

Many users of the city-owned facilities at the complex where The Landings would be built say commissioners finally made the right decision to end the project that no longer lived up to its promise.

Others say the termination is bad news for the city's economy, especially as Winter Haven tries to attract more Legoland Florida visitors to the city's center.

The Landings' financier, Taylor Pursell, did not respond to multiple attempts to reach him for comment Tuesday.

But a lawyer who has represented the development before the City Commission in the past said he was surprised at the city's actions and he expects Pursell to respond to the city's letter declaring the contract terminated.

"I was taken off guard by the termination," said Lakes Wales lawyer Jack Brandon, who still represents Pursell but who has not been involved in recent negotiations with the city.

"I find it very unusual after years of negotiations and working together in terms of developing a piece of property, that from my perspective would be very beneficial not only to the developer but to the city of Winter Haven and the area, that all of this would be terminated in a letter."

Winter Haven officials, in a letter sent to Pursell by email Monday night, said they were deeming all contractual relationships with The Landings, Pursell and his corporations terminated. The email was sent after commissioners gave it unanimous approval at their meeting Monday night.

The Landings, a mixed-use development set to take over the Chain of Lakes Complex, was once planned as a grand shopping center akin to Lakeland's Lakeside Village, but it has since been scaled down.

The city's letter said The Landings has had "multiple material failures," including not closing on the purchase of 0.33 acres of city-owned land, not submitting a declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions by May 5, 2012, and not advancing the project in a manner consistent with the terms of the agreement.

The letter gives The Landings 30 days to get off the property and says the city will keep a $100,000 deposit made by the developer.

At least one critic of the project expects a legal battle.

"The legal expenses could finance new covers for the pool, I'll guarantee you that," said Eddy Twyford, a Winter Haven activist who has represented a Winter Haven swim team in discussions with the city.

"You wonder what went on behind the scenes to get to where they already had the letter written."

Twyford said changes in the project away from what was originally proposed, which included two hotels, waterside restaurants and an IMAX movie theater, have made it not worth exchanging the city's facilities for.

"Obviously what was promised on the power point picture originally is not what was going to be produced," Twyford said. "It was basically a pact between the City Commission and the citizens of what was going to be developed. What the developer is going to deliver would have violated that pact. That's why I'm actually proud of the city commissioners, that they stood up and did this."

Kemp Brinson, chairman of the Theatre Winter Haven board, said he and many theater supporters are happy with the commission's move. He said the city went about plans the wrong way by first jumping at the prospect of a major development and then coming up with a vision. It should have been the other way around, he said.

"And if we had taken more time, we might not have jumped on this opportunity," Brinson said.

Supporters of the project said they hope the city's letter doesn't spell the end of the development.

Winter Haven business owner Damon McCrystal said The Landings, with new restaurants and shopping, is needed for Legoland visitors and Winter Haven residents.

"A place like that where we go down, eat dinner, go to the movies, walk around and do some shopping, I think that would be really ideal," McCrystal said. "I think it would have been really good for the economy."

Another Winter Haven business owner worries about the three businesses already developed as part of The Landings — Chick-fil-A, Starbucks and Panera Bread.

"They came here with the speculation that there was going to be this huge project behind them but now there's going to be nothing," Berry Chatas said.

"I understand that the developers have fallen behind on their promises, but this is such an important, vital project for this town that I think we need to step back and take a look at this whole thing."

The Landings project first picked up steam in 2010 when the fertilizer plant across the street from the Chain of Lakes Complex was demolished. It has been controversial almost ever since.

The development plans first called for a new city recreation center and a home for Theatre Winter Haven to be built at the Chain of Lakes Complex along with the new businesses. But by 2011, those plans changed, first calling for relocating the facilities to the former fertilizer plant site, and then to elsewhere in the city after a public outcry when it became known the site was contaminated with chemicals.

The Orange Dome was demolished in February 2012 and The Landings developers replaced it with the Starbucks, Panera Bread and Chick-fil-A.

Questions were raised about the agreement with The Landings when a city report found that replacing the city facilities would be much more expensive than first anticipated.

The report said replacing the recreation center would cost $16.3 million and replacing the theater would cost $21.9 million. Neither estimate included the cost of land.

The city had earlier estimated it would cost $9 million for the recreation center and $8 million for a new theater, with the city splitting the theater cost with Theatre Winter Haven.

New discussions on an amendment to the contract brought up the possibility of those facilities staying at the complex. Without a new amendment, the original agreement would force the city to relocate the facilities as long as The Landings met goals set out in a developer's agreement with the city.

Under the contract, the city would have had to sell the land where the swimming pool, recreation center and theater stand 18 months after The Landings has developed 200,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, including a minimum of 200 hotel rooms.

Commissioner Pete Chichetto said Monday city officials had gone "back and forth" on talks of a new amendment but could not agree.

[ Ryan Little can be reached at ryan.little@theledger.com or 863-401-6962. Follow him on Twitter @LedgerRyan. ]